As an example of communication apparatuses that employ near-field communication, a technique has been disclosed that assigns a wireless communication IC tag to a vehicle or the like and transmits history information together with an ID stored in the IC tag is to a history information storage device connected to the IC tag through a network (for example, see PTL 1).
The communication system according to PTL 1 includes a wireless IC tag attached to an object that generates history information so as to transmit the history information, and a history information storage device connected to the wireless IC tag through a network and configured to accumulate the history information, and the wireless IC tag includes a history information acquisition unit that acquires the generated history information, a storage unit that stores an exclusive ID being the identification information assigned to the wireless IC tag, and a transmission unit that periodically transmits the history information and the exclusive ID of the wireless IC tag to the history information storage device through the network. The history information storage device accumulates the received history information with respect to each ID exclusively assigned to the wireless IC tag.
In addition, a technique is disclosed that provides an environmental burden calculation system that can accurately calculate a level of environmental burden during use of an apparatus, an environmental burden calculating device, and a method of calculating the environmental burden level (for example, see PTL 2).
According to PTL 2, an electronic apparatus includes a function execution unit that performs a plurality of functions, an operation history collection unit that collects operation histories of each of the plurality of functions, and an IC tag that records the operation histories of each of the plurality of functions collected by the operation history collection unit, and the operation histories recorded in the IC tag are wirelessly transmitted to an IC reader, so that a computer calculates the environmental burden level.
Thus, the techniques according to PTL 1 and PTL 2 are employed for continuously transmitting the history information from a near-field communication unit such as the IC tag.
Further, a technique is known that establishes communication by bringing a communication apparatus and a reader-writer apparatus close to each other (bring the reader-writer apparatus closely opposite the communication apparatus, or into touch therewith).
As an example of such a technique, an information processing apparatus has been developed that enables failure information of a system to be taken out for the purpose of a maintenance work or the like, in case of a critical failure such that the system itself is unable to be activated (for example, see PTL 3).
The information processing apparatus according to PTL 3 includes a main power source that supplies power to the system, a power source unit provided between the main power source and the system so as to control the power supply from the main power source to the system, an abnormality monitor unit that watches abnormal power supply to the system, or watches abnormal operation of the system, and a failure information notification unit incorporated inside the information processing apparatus and including a memory for storing the failure information. The abnormality monitor unit stores, in the memory of the failure information notification unit, the abnormal power supply to the system and the abnormal operation of the system that have been monitored, as the failure information. The failure information notification unit includes a sub power source apart from the main power source, and supplies power from the sub power source so as to read out the failure information stored in the memory and transmit the failure information to outside.